I’m doing another Black Box Wine this week. I can’t help it, I just found this 2008 Mendoza Argentina Malbec and I am in love.

I have posted about Malbec wines before so to learn, once again, that I love them, should come as no surprise. I was turned onto Malbec wine about four years ago. My favorite was Alta Vista.  An exceptional wine. It was my favorite until yesterday when I tried the Black Box Malbec.

I don’t know how they do it, all of their wines are great.  Black Box wines can hold their own against any bottle. The Malbec Black Box wine surpasses a lot of the Malbecs that are out there right now. It seems everyone has come out with a Malbec lately, and some of them shouldn’t have.

This wine has luscious floral cherry aromas. The palate is dry and mediom bodied, with juicy blueberry flavors and hints of tobacco and chocolate. The tobacco doesn’t sound all that good but believe me it is. It has an earthy, robust structure and well balanced acidity which leads to a smooth finish. This wine pairs beautifully with steaks, grilled meats and Veggies, Italian dishes and mild cheeses.

I would serve this to any guest and not feel the least bit worried that it is from a box. I might pour it into a carafe to serve on the table but this wine rivals any of the best Malbecs I have tasted. I would serve it with pride.

If you don’t love this wine you aren’t drinking enough. Wow, that doesn’t really sound right. You will love this wine, I promise. It is nothing but a box full of deliciousness.

Source Select Mendoza, Argentina vinyards

Acidity 5.6/l

Alcohol 13.5%

Residual Sugar 3.0g/l

pH 3.7

SRP $24.99, which is the equivalent of about $6.25 per 750ml bottle

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If you managed to get your hands on this zin, now is the time to consider drinking it. The 2007 Lily Hill Estate Zinfandel scored a very impressive 91 points and is at the peak of it’s flavor.

From  Bellawinery.com

Fruit from our Lily Hill estate was destemmed and crushed before going through a 12-day fermentation in a submerged cab tank. The syrah grapes used in the blend were co-fermented with the zinfandel. Aging occurred in a combination of French and American oak barrels for 16 months.

The 2007 Lily Hill zinfandel tantalizes the nose with a delicate aroma of blackcurrant and cloves. This velvety textured wine delivers solid red fruit and soft tannins on the palate, with a lingering finish of plum and roasted coffee beans.

Our Lily Hill estate vineyard is located on the western slope of the Dry Creek Valley, directly above our wine cave. We are privileged to have 10 acres of old vine zinfandel planted in 1915. These weathered vines give us ultra-ripe, concentrated fruit that brings intense flavor and complexity to our wines.

In 2007 we experienced a steady summer of warm days and cool, foggy nights, ideal growing conditions for top-notch winegrapes. 2007 wines have excellent concentration with full but soft tannins. The vintage balances power and finesse and is perhaps the best year in Sonoma County in the last decade.

I haven’t been able to score one of these babies but if you have please let me know what you thought of it.

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Aromatic with a hint of rose petals and raspberries, “Rosa Regale” Brachetto d’Acqui is perhaps the only wine in the world that marries well with chocolate, especially dark or bittersweet. Delightful, vivacious and aromatic, it can also be enjoyed with strawberries, fruit salads and a wide range of desserts. $24.99.

This summer our neighborhood got a Trader Joe’s. I’d never been to one before the opening of this store but I had heard about them. The building of the new Trader Joe’s caused all sorts of grumbling from the local grocery stores and liquor stores.

In Minnesota you can not buy alcohol in the grocery store, nor can you buy it on Sunday. We have neighborhood liquor stores which are nice but it would be convenient to be able to buy our booze when picking up dinner at the last minute.

Trader Joe’s has a wine shop in their stores. In Minnesota stores they are separate from the grocery part of the store and you have to make two separate purchases but you don’t have to move your car which makes it a little more convenient.

I’d hear about Trader Joe’s Three Buck Chuck from friends and family who had a store near them. But I had never tried it. I’m not a wine snob, though I do like a nice wine, I’ll drink anything if it doesn’t make my mouth bleed. So I was looking forward to the Trader Joe’s wine.

The Three Buck Chuck is the Charles Shaw label which produces many varieties of wine but the store, at least the one here, carries Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay. I spent $9 plus some tax and tried one of each. I now have three bottles of cooking wine.

Actually the Chardonnay was not too bad but the cab and Merlot were gut churningly bad. Even for $3 they were overpriced. I can’t think of when I might be tempted to drink this wine.

Have you tried the Three Buck Chuck? What did you think about it?

I love Big House Red and Big House White. Both are great table wines that go with just about anything. One of the things I love about this wine aside that it goes with everything and it has a fantastic label is that it has a screw off top. No corkscrew needed. I love the ease of opening this bottle but the plugs for the wine vacuum do not fit snugly in this bottle so you have to drink it in a couple of days. Usually that isn’t a problem but just so you know the wine vacuum will not work with this wine.

Since this wine goes with just about anything I am posting a recipe from my other blog, Redhead Ranting. I don’t usually post recipes on that blog but this meatloaf was so good I wanted to share it with everyone. Enjoy!

Between recuperating, standing up to bigots, defending human rights and being a semi-super mom I managed to outdo myself in the kitchen today. I made this fantastic to-die-for meatloaf as well as some yummy cookies. My house smells wonderful. Smellovision should be brought back just for the wonderful smells coming from my kitchen today.

Cornbread Stuffing
1 box Jiffy Corn Bread Mix prepared as a loaf or muffins
1/4 onion
2 stalks celery
1 red pepper
2 or 3 tbsp beef broth
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp butter
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, celery, garlic and red pepper. Add broth, honey and salt and pepper. Remove from stove and place in bowl. Crumble up cornbread, cut in butter and mix with sauteed ingredients.

To-Die-For Meatloaf

2 lbs lean ground beef
3/4 of an onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cubed bread crumbs toasted
1 cup beef bouillon
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
1/2 tsp Penzy’s Prime Rib Rub
salt and pepper to taste
Sharp Cheddar Cheese

In a bowl place the bread crumbs. Prepare bouillon and pour piping hot over bread crumbs. Add onion, red pepper, garlic, salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Let cool (this is a good time to make the stuffing mixture) before adding eggs and ground beef. Mix well. Place half of the mixture on a cookie sheet or lasagna pan and make a sort of boat out of it. Place the cornbread stuffing in the boat and cover with the remaining meat mixture.

Bake at 350 for about an hour. Remove from oven and place slices of cheddar cheese on top and put back in oven for about 4 minutes or until bubbling but not where it has melted away. Remove from oven and try to keep the kids and dogs from tasting it until you can serve it.

Heath Bits Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe is on the back of the package but I added lots of extra love to them.